Deadline.com Interview
This is a very good time to be Howard Gordon. At the same time he published his second novel in as many years - the acclaimed Hard Target, released in January - he's the toast of television...again. Less than two years after serving as an executive producer on 24, he's co-creator and exec producer of the first-year Showtime drama Homeland. The series just took home two Golden Globes - for top drama and lead drama series actress Claire Danes - as well as a pair of WGA Awards and the AFI honor for TV Program of the Year. All of that, plus Gordon is helping to ramp up the coming 24 feature and has another series premiering tonight at 10 on NBC: the midseason drama Awake starring Jason Isaacs. Gordon took time out from his insane schedule to speak with Deadline Hollywood about the insta-classic that is Homeland, how writing novels is different from crafting TV, and why he's often mistaken for being a hardcore political conservative (blame his friend Joel Surnow).
Read the entire interview here..
GQ Interview
"I wouldn't say I'm obsessed with duality, but after the cancellation of Lone Star the idea of duality had been rattling around in my head. I was thinking about two lives as the same life."
That's Kyle Killen, the creator of Awake, the most exciting new show on TV. It debuts tonight with an ingenious first episode. If you've not heard of Lone Star, you're not alone. One of 2010's most critically lauded shows, the Fox drama about a con man splitting his life between two towns, wives, and families in Texas, lasted just two measly and deeply frustrating episodes. Its ratings were beyond abysmal; they challenged the notion that the show was actually airing at all. (The once highly touted Lone Star star, the likable James Polk, has since been relegated to a recurring guest spot on the sitcom Happy Endings of late.)
Read the entire interview here..
Homeland wins 2 WGA Awards
Homeland, co-created by Howard Gordon, was awarded two Writers Guild Awards for 2012. It won Best New Series and tied for best drama episode for the episode "The Good Soldier." written by Henry Bromell. Also sharing in the series award are co-creator Alex Gansa, Alex Cary, Chip Johannessen, Meredith Stiehm, Gideon Raff, and Henry Bromell. Full awards list can be found here.
HARD TARGET review in Booklist
"The follow-up to Gideon's War (2011) reads like another intense season of 24, the show Gordon produced. Gideon Davis is enjoying retirement and life with his fiancée when he receives evidence of an impending terrorist attack on Washington, D.C. His contacts at his former employer don't believe him or his source. After investigating a bit further and discovering ties to a white-supremacist movement, he recruits his brother, Tillman, to help him stop the plot before lives are lost. Tillman realizes the only way to succeed is if he infiltrates the group. The suspense never wavers for a second, and the main characters are solid. Gordon does a great job of balancing the development of the heroes and nonstop action. Fans of Vince Flynn and the television adventures of Jack Bauer will eat this up. Gordon just keeps getting better." - Jeff Ayers, Booklist
Howard's Q&A with The Futon Critic:
"...Our Jim Halterman rang up Gordon recently to discuss the myriad of projects he's involved in as well as how a busy television writer/producer decided to venture into the world of novel writing with 'Gideon's War....'"
Read the entire interview here.
"OH WOW!!! This is a fantastic book! I and my husband now have a joint 'favorite' writer! After reading it I said OH MY what a 'feel good' book! My hubby says 'Wow, What a ride!! Awesome!' ...Gordon writes with such ease! Yet he spins the most complicated plot! He tells us with such style and colorful descriptions that we can see and feel it! ...Gordon gives us everything possibly needed to prepare the foundation to this amazing high action adventure story of power struggles, brilliant military strategies, covert operations and edge of your seat excitement! ...I always like to compare an author to others so that you can get a feel for whether this book would be right for you, BUT Howard Gordon is in a class of his own. IF I had to compare then I would say Clive Cussler, Tom Clancy, James Peterson, and many more well loved writers would be good company for Gordon ... Gordon is fast gaining on them! Well deserved praise for a great book!" - MysteryNet.com
Read the entire review here.
'24' Producer Howard Gordon on His Three New TV Series, First Novel and the '24' Movie
"If '24' producer Howard Gordon isn't the hardest working man in show business these days, we don't want to see the schedule of the guy who is...." - Kim Potts, TVSquad.com
Read the entire interview here.
What if the United States government blew up its own high-value property and pinned the terrorist act on Muslim extremists as an excuse to go to war? "Gideon's War" is not only a gift to conspiracy theorists, but also to anyone with pedal-to-the-metal taste. By Page 17 a man's been shot in the face, a presidential envoy - the Gideon of the title - learns that his brother's been taken hostage, and a dirty old politician has hit on a young woman. And we're off! Staged in a fictional Middle East country whose waters host a key American oil rig, this thriller feels as if it were written by someone with a lot of practice behind the wheel because it was. Mr. Gordon was an executive producer of "24," and before that a writer for "The X-Files." The book is so jammed with action, there's even a literal cliffhanger (fingers and rock included). To Mr. Gordon's credit you don't notice that's a cliché until your own fingernails are gone. -Susannah Meadows, The New York Times
Howard Gordon might have forever been known as the Executive Producer of "24," but I suspect he will leave that behind as Gideon's War earns him the honor of being crowned one of America's hottest new thriller authors. -Brad Thor
"A thrill every clock-ticking minute! From racing through the jungles of Southeast Asia to outsmarting terrorists on a high tech oil rig in a typhoon, Howard Gordon's new international peacemaker Gideon Davis takes saving the world to a new level. Move over Jack Bauer--there's a new sheriff in town." -Vince Flynn, New York Times bestselling author of American Assassin
"True to form of my eight-year experience with Howard Gordon on '24,' Gideon's War is a rip-roaring thriller." -Kiefer Sutherland
"Howard Gordon, the man behind 24, makes the transition from screenwriter to novelist look easy with this ahead-of-the-curve thriller." -Alex Berenson, New York Times bestselling author of The Midnight House
This explosive debut novel by the veteran producer of 24 and The X-Files thrusts you into the world of Gideon Davis, an international peace negotiator. After returning from a successful mission, he is given the most important assignment of his career from his father figure and deputy national security adviser, Earl Parker: within 24 hours, he must bring in his estranged brother, Tillman, a rogue agent who has agreed to surrender only to Gideon. Upon landing in Mohan, an independent state between Malaysia and the Philippines, Gideon begins his hunt. After an ambush, a jungle chase, a river escape, and eventual rescue on top of a mountain, Gideon learns his true destination; the multimillion-dollar oil rig named The Obelisk, which has been seized by terrorists led by Tillman himself. VERDICT This is an essential read for fans of political and action thrillers. Gordon does a superb job of drawing you in and making you care about the characters while forcing you to ask "What will happen next?" at every turn. -Anthony Martinez, Library Journal
Bookseller Praise for GIDEON'S WAR
I was completely taken with this book. This is an ecstasy pill of adrenaline for us thriller readers. Be prepared for a journey as Gideon tracks down the only family he has left. We are taken us on a virtual peyote sit-n-spin of geographic locations, multicultural flavor, and "clinch it up" action. Blood, fighting, technology, villains to loathe, and some slight sexual tension is just some of what puts Gideon's War in my list of 'Jason's badass novels of 2010'. (Yes I know it comes out January 2011, but just go with me here). Whatever magic Gordon used for '24' translates nicely in Gideon's War. Everything about this book was just right. The tempo, the violence, the betrayal, and (of course) the male bravado with that fresh football locker room smell. Because this is a thriller and the main character is a guy who gets out of impossible situations, you'll hear comparisons to past books/characters/movies. Ignore them all. This one stands on its own. -Jason Frost, Russo's Books (Fresno, CA)